A BIG THANKS TO OUR TEACHERS

Thanks Very Much

made from the heart to all

Thank You Very Much, From The Heart

We have all experienced a few teachers, over the years of our being educated, that were less than dedicated to their chosen field of teaching kids. With a very few exceptions, the vast majority of teachers in our country are dedicated and true professionals. They are in our pre-schools, in our kindergartens, and primary schools, our middle schools, and in our high schools. The quality of the education that they provide to children across the nation, is highly underestimated and much misunderstanding is held because of standardized testing , by which many teachers are judged, and the levels that the kids they teach, have to be high enough to meet state and federal guidelines. The biggest problem associated with this is the fact that regional tests do not always apply to students in the one in which they are being tested, and the large numbers of underprivileged kids across the country in the inner-cities and rural areas are usually much lower in their overall levels due to environment and poorer social conditions. It is not the children's faults and it is not the teacher's faults, but many of these "standard tests" that are being used are inappropriate to the kids in the areas in which they are being tested. Because of the huge gap between the "normal levels" of kids and those that struggle each day in reading skills, tests are very unfair in being used as the standard in which teachers are judged. It certainly does not definitely tell of that teacher's true ability to teach or their educational levels in the colleges that they have attended in teacher preparation!

I have been in schools where the teacher's were actually threatened in the loss of their jobs if the students they have, do not meet certain standards or levels on the barrage of tests that they are to be given throughout a school year. Some teachers were caught actually cheating by teaching the tests that they were to give, or changing scores, so that they could keep their jobs by being ranked higher in their districts. The teachers that were guilty of cheating were a small few who were not representative of the vast majority, but let one or two go wrong, and the news media jumps on them as if they represent all teachers across the country! The same thing happens to other public servants such as policemen, nurses or others who the general populations accept as being the chosen, that are to give of themselves and make big personnel sacrifices in performing their job duties.

If you graduated from high school, thank a teacher! If you graduated from college or technical school, thank a teacher! If you got praised for a paper or some art work that you did when you were small, and it made a big difference in helping to shape your future lives, thank a teacher! If you became a great scientist, physician, nurse, teacher, policeman, fireman, mill worker,or fast food restaurant worker, thank a teacher. You were blessed to be able to get those jobs and vocational choices that helped to shape your life and those who are to be your families.

Teachers are the most underrated and forgotten professionals in our entire country today. The teacher's pay scale varies over the nation, however, it is extremely low and not commensurate with the college training and preparation, and job duties, that teachers perform. When will our country and its people realize the significant contributions and selfless giving of our teachers across this country? Some do! Most just assume that a teacher chose his or her role in sacrifice for the whole country and all do their jobs on a daily basis, without thought for valued compensation! The cost of living is very high and it seems that teachers never do quite meet the high costs, as they progress through out the years, giving it their all. Of all the professional occupations, teachers are at the bottom of the totem pole.

Many teachers are faced every year in having to purchase supplies that they have to pay for, and not their schools. They see that if they are to be able to teach the kids that they have, they have to get paper, pencils, crayons, books, staplers, and staples, glue, and a dozen other needed supplies, that will help them get through the days ahead. Teachers are people, too! They have to drive to their jobs, need gas, food, clothing, and pay the rent, just like everybody else. It has gotten much more difficult for the average teacher in this country just to barely meet their basic needs, and some fall short of that goal.

Teachers provide the building blocks from kindergarten to higher education levels and without them and their huge contributions, our world would be a much poorer place in which to try to survive. Our technology would be toast! Our cure of diseases would be out of reach. Our transportation, foods that we eat, highly technologically created electronic world would be back in the dark ages and no progress would have ever been made. Teachers all were behind what we have and use every day, and it is past time that they get the recognition that they so greatly deserve. Write your teacher a letter, or call them up and tell them how much they mean to you. The hearts and souls of teachers everywhere depend upon their kids and how much they feel that they have given of themselves in performance of their jobs as overseers and valuable tutors, aides, progenitors of new learning and friends. Teachers are likened to the "Golden Goose" of tales and are responsible for laying a lot of golden eggs. We have got to make sure that we don't contribute to the demise of the goose and support our teachers for a better future in our world.